Making lapweld tubing.



No. 796,535. PATENTED- AUG. s, 1905. G. SGHUHMANN & J. H. MATHESON.

MAKING LAPWELD TUBING.

APPLICATION FILED 13150.20. 1904.

Gea'rye Saba/7117mm James HMatbEsan UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE SOHUHMANN AND JAMES H. MATHESON, OF READING, PENNSYL VANIA, ASSIGNORS TO READING IRON COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF READING, PENNSYLVANIA.

' MAKING LAPWELD TUBING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 20, 1904. Serial No 237,660.

No. 796.535. Patented Aug. 8, 1905.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern,

Be it known that we, GEORGE SoHUHMANN and JAMEs H. MATHEsoN, citizens of the United States, residing in the city of Reading, county of Berks, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Making Lapweld Tubing, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates particularly to the manufacture of high-grade lapweld tubing. which is regularly subjected to a second run through a furnace and welding apparatus to insure a more perfect and uniform product than results from the ordinary single run.

Heretofore the tube after its first welding run has frequently been returned hot to the furnace to reheat it for a second run, such recharging being effected either at the front end of the furnace, from which it was withdrawn for its first run, or at the rear end, at-

which it was first charged, and the two runs being made either through the same weldingrolls or through different Welding-rolls. The output of double-run tubing is obviously increased by employing different welding-rolls for the first and second runs; but heretofore these have either been provided at difierent ends of the furnace or pair of furnaces employed, or where both are provided at the same (front) end it has been required either that the once-welded tube be carried back to the rear end for recharging or that it be carried over intervening troughs provided in connection with the dilferent welding-rolls and the charging-opening for the purpose of recharging it and of thereafter delivering it to the sizing-rolls, through which it is finally run.

The main object of our invention is to simplify and cheapen the double-run operation by avoiding all such carrying of the tubes and providing for a constant progression of the same from the original charging-point for the bent skelp, through the several intermediate steps of the operation, to the sizingrolls, as hereinafter fully described in connection with the accompanying drawing, the novel features of the invention being specifically pointed out in the claims.

The accompanying drawing is a plan View showing diagrammatically an apparatus for carrying out our invention.

The furnace, which may be of the usual regenerative type, is indicated in horizontal section, the top portion being removed, 1 and 2 representing the side walls, 3 the rear end wall, 4. the front end wall, 5 the hearth, and 6 the usual charging-opening in the rear end adjacent the side wall 1. The usual sizingrolls 7 and sizing-trough 8 are indicated in front of the side wall portion 2 of the furnace.

In carrying out our invention we provide a first withdrawal-opening 9 in the front wall, approximately midway of the width of the furnace, a second withdrawal-opening 10 in said wall adjacent to the side wall 2 of the furnace, and a recharging-opening 11', located intermediate of said withdrawal-openings, but nearer to the first withdrawal-opening 9, as shown. In line with each of the withdrawal-openings 9 and 10 we provide any or dinary welding-rolls (marked 12 and 13, rerespectively) and welding-troughs,(marked 1A and 15, respectively,) and in line with said recharging-opening 11 we provide a chargingtrough 16, preferably of the well-known elevating and reversing type, to permit of turning the once-welded tube end for end before recharging it into the furnace. The charging-opening 6 in the rear end of the furnace may be extended across the furnace, so as to enable the operator to conveniently roll the series of heating skelps and reheating tubes laterally toward the opposite side Wall 2 and to push the same through the withdrawalopenings, as required.

The skelps are successively charged through the opening 6 into one side of the furnace and gradually moved toward the opposite side until in line with the first withdrawal-opening9 and properly heated for welding. They are then successively pushed through said opening 9 and into the welding-rolls 12, through which they are passed over the usual ball and mandrel-bar in the trough 14. The mandrelbar having been withdrawn, the tube is simply moved away from the welding-trough 14 into the adjacent charging-trough 16, the movement still being toward the opposite wall 2 of the furnace. The latter is then preferably temporarily raised by suitable means and swung so as to turn the tube end for end, and thereby provide for reversing the second run, as is customary, for the purpose of securing a more uniform product. The tube is then pushed into the furnace through the recharging-opening 11, and as it reheats it is again moved laterally toward the opposite wall 2 until in line with the second withdrawal-opening 10, through which it is finally pushed out of the furnace for its run through the second welding-rolls 13 and over the ball, as before. The withdrawal of the mandrel-bar leaves the rewelded tube in the second welding-trough 15, which is nearest to the sizing-trough 8 and in direct communication therewith, as in the ordinarysi'ngle-run apparatus, so that an additional lateral movement of the tube in the same direction, as all previous movements thereof, delivers it to the sizing-trough, from which it passes to the sizing-rolls and finally to the straightening-rolls, as usual. It will thus be seen that the lateral movement of the tube during the repeated operations of charging and withdrawing is constantly in the same direction and that the operation and mechanism are'thereby much simplified and improved. What we claim is 1. In apparatus for forming lapweld tubing, the combination of a furnace having in its front end two withdrawing-openings and acharging-opening located between said withdrawing-openings, with welding-rolls in line with each of the withdrawing-openings.

2. In apparatus for forming lapweld tubing, the combination of a furnace having in its front end a charging-opening located approximately midway of the width of the furnace, a withdrawing-opening adjacent to said charging-opening to one side thereof, and a second withdrawing-opening to the other side thereof and nearer to the adjacent side wall of the furnace than said first withdrawingopening is to the opposite side wall, with welding-rolls in line with each of the withdrawing-openings.

3. ln'apparatusfor forming lapweld tubing, the combination of a furnace having in its front end two withdrawing-openings and a charging-opening located between said withdrawing-openings, with welding-rolls and troughs in line with each of the withdrawingopenings and a charging-trough between the welding-troughs.

4. In apparatus for forming lapweld tubing, the combination of a furnace having in its rear end a charging-opening located adjacent one side wall thereof, and in its front end a second charging-opening located approximately midway of the width of the furnace and primary and secondary withdrawingopenings on opposite sides of said second charging-opening, with welding-rolls and troughs in line with each of the withdrawingopenings, and a reversible troughin line with the second charging-opening.

In testimony whereof weaffix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE SCHUHMANN. JAMES H. MATHESON. Witnesses:

F. P. LoNosDoRF, HEBER Y. Yos'r 

